A Bipolar Saturday: Lady Lions Win by 60 While the Men's Team Struggles

Photo from @tkclions Instagram

This Saturday, The King’s College men’s and women’s basketball teams took the court against their rivals from Cooper Union. Despite a decent effort from the men’s team, Saturday’s games were almost bipolar.

The women’s team handily took care of business against Cooper Union in the first game. The two teams played inside of a middle school gymnasium and the King’s women’s team made Cooper Union look like middle schoolers, routing them by 60 points (80-20).

“Catie and Bailey’s games were hopefully a building block for them for the rest of the season and for the next three years.”

Freshman Bailey Kaufmann led the way for the Lady Lions with a near quadruple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, ten assists, eight steals and two blocks. Freshman Catie Shoemaker also stuffed the stat sheet, notching a team-high 17 points while tallying six assists, ten steals and seven rebounds.

“Catie and Bailey’s games were hopefully a building block for them for the rest of the season and for the next three years,” assistant coach Nick Swedick stated. “They both can do a lot of different things on the court.

“Saturday’s win was an example of what our team looks like when we play loose and with confidence. It was a great team win. And everyone on the team contributed.”

Swedick is spot on in his analysis. The whole team chipped in, and Saturday’s game was undoubtedly their best of the season. Saturday’s game also showcased the talent of King’s freshmen and their humility in light of a dominant performance.

“I just play basketball,” Kaufmann simply said when asked about her performance. “Saturday was just a good game for me.”

As the season is now in full swing, the women’s team’s play is peaking at the right time. The Lady Lions will look to ride this wave of quality play in their next game against a tough Berkeley College side on January 31.

Following the women’s team’s whitewashing of Cooper Union, the men’s team struggled against Cooper Union. Despite being down by only eight points with 12:36 to go in the second half, the men’s team exhausted themselves in a 79-58 defeat.

Team captain Justin Cox carried the load offensively with a team-high 20 Points while freshman big man Luke Chambers earned a double-double of 11 points and ten rebounds. Off the bench and in only his second game with the team, freshman Will Denler netted 12 points to lead all bench players. Despite their efforts, King’s showed signs of fatigue down the stretch and couldn’t muster up enough strength to hang with the quicker and bigger Cooper Union team.

With men’s team losing three of their key players over Winter Break due to a variety of reasons, the team seems to have hit a significant roadblock in their season. The team is undersized, lacks multiple scoring options and is about to face the hardest part of their schedule.

“We need to play defense, Cox stated. “It's about trust. Right now, with so many new players, we are trying to build chemistry. That takes time and patience. Coach has us going through some good practices though. I feel after a few more games we will be up to speed.”

If the men’s team doesn’t get it together soon, they could very well be in for a long remainder of the season.